Is it worth grading?
The only question that matters, answered with math instead of hopium. Enter your comps, pick a grading tier, be honest about condition — get the expected profit of submitting vs. selling raw.
Modern cards at 8 often sell near raw.
Total shipping ÷ cards in the submission.
eBay ≈ 13%. Set 0 if keeping the card.
| Outcome | Odds | Sale | Net after all costs |
|---|
Net = sale × (1 − selling fee) − grading fee − shipping. Odds come from the condition preset — adjust condition honestly; the whole answer depends on it.
More than a PSA grading cost calculator
A cost calculator tells you what you'll pay. This one also tells you what you'll get back. Grading is a bet. You pay a fixed cost (fee + shipping) for a chance at the Gem Mint premium. The calculator multiplies each possible grade by its probability and price, subtracts every cost, and compares the result against simply selling the card raw:
EV = Σ P(grade) × price(grade) × (1 − sell fee) − grading fee − shipping
The three mistakes this catches
- Grading $30 cards at $80 fees. After PSA paused its value tiers in June 2026, the Regular tier's $79.99 fee eats the entire upside of most modern cards. Check current fees and consider CGC or SGC for mid-value cards.
- Assuming the 10. Population data says most submissions don't gem. If your card's centering is worse than 55/45 — measure it — your PSA 10 odds are close to zero and the EV usually flips negative.
- Ignoring the 9. The PSA 9 price, not the 10, dominates the expected value for most cards. If the 9 comp is barely above raw, you're paying fees to stand still.